Gold Key Dinner An Emotional Night

SOUTHINGTON — About halfway through Tracy Lis' Gold Key acceptance speech Sunday at the Aqua Turf, she paused and asked girls basketball player Kiah Gillespie of Capital Prep in Hartford to join her at the podium.

Gillespie had spoken earlier in the dinner when she received the Hal Levy high school female athlete award, and something had caught Lis' ear. Gillespie had joked about scoring only 2,000 points in her high school career. So Lis, who scored 3,681 points, pulled in Gillespie and talked to her directly as if no one else was in the room.

"Be proud of what you do, what you did — be proud of yourself" Lis said to Gillespie. "Never, ever say you only scored 2,000 points. That's amazing."

It was another emotional night at the Gold Key dinner as the Connecticut Sports' Writers Alliance honored some of the state's top athletes and coaches with several awards, including four prestigious Gold Key awards.

Lis, who is the highest scorer in Connecticut high school basketball history, joined former professional hockey player Craig Janney of Enfield, Derby High and Yale running back John Pagliaro and longtime FCIAC commissioner John Kuczo as this year's Gold Key recipients.

Throughout the evening, the Gold Key winners commented on the support they received growing up, whether it was from a coach or a parent. Often it was an emotional moment at the 74th dinner.

"He took me to Yale Bowl when I was a kid and I sat in the end zone. He came to all my practices and my games — my dad," Pagliaro said. "This is for you, Dad.

Janney, who was a 12-year NHL veteran and a U.S. Olympian, recounted the brief time he spent playing for Enfield High School and the title he won with the team.

"It wasn't about that we won. You know what it was about? When Fermi won that [D-II] state championship [before Enfield's game], they were our friends from youth hockey. They didn't celebrate their championship" Janney said. "They ran over to us when we were going out on the ice and cheered us on. That's what it's about. Those relationships and friendships."

That theme stretched throughout the event.

"An athlete is only as great as their family, friends, their supporters and their fans," Lis said. "We are what we are because of all of you."

Former Connecticut College runner Mike LeDuc, who received the Bill Lee male athlete of the year award, praised his college coaches who took a chance on him after no one recruited him out of Canton High. LeDuc won the Div. III steeplechase championship in 2014.

"I'm just so honored to be here. I didn't even think I was the best athlete at my high school, so this is quite an honor," LeDuc said.

Former East Catholic High softball player Allyson Fournier of Tufts, who has won two straight Division III national championships, won the female athlete of the year award.

For former Glastonbury High soccer player and Eastern Connecticut State player Jon DeCasanova the support he received helped him in the battle for his life. In 2012, DeCasanova was given a less than one percent chance of survival by some doctors when he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in 2012 and, a year later, with lymphoma. But after receiving an experimental T-cell infusion in 2013, he fought back and later returned to the team.

Sheehan High School of Wallingford graduate and UConn student Connor Reed received the other courage award.

Middletown football running back Dario Highsmith received the Hal Levy male high school athlete of the year. Valley Regional/Old Lyme football coach Tim King received the Doc McInerney high school coach of the year for a male sport and Richard Langer of Haddam-Killingworth girls volleyball received the coach of the year honor for a female sport. Bob and Cookie Bromage of Enfield were given the Bo Kolinsky special recognition award for their combined 100 years of coaching. Cookie is the coach of Enfield field hockey and Bob has coached baseball at Enfield and East Granby.